Larry Donnell Nance Sr. (born February 12, 1959) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. A forward from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, Nance played 14 seasons (1981–1994) in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) as a member of the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

and

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. He was a three-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

College career

Nance played for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

, who made it to the Elite Eight in his junior year.

Professional career

Phoenix Suns (1981-1988)

Nance scored 15,687 career points and grabbed 7,067 career rebounds, but he is perhaps best known as the first winner of the

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

in 1984, earning him the nickname "The High-Ayatolla of Slamola". Nance was a model of consistency throughout his NBA career. He averaged over 16 points and 8 rebounds per game for all eleven seasons as a starter. His best scoring average year was in the 1986–1987 NBA season, where he averaged 22.5 points per game. Always among the highest in field goal percentage, Nance was an excellent mid-range shooter as well as a talented inside player. Nance was involved in a trade between the Suns and the Cavaliers in 1988. Nance's stint in Phoenix came to an end on February 25, 1988, when, with the Suns struggling to a 16–35 mark, he was traded with Mike Sanders and Detroit's No. 1 pick in 1988 (used to pick

Randolph Keys Randolph Keys (born April 19, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played five National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons in his career for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee ...

) to Cleveland for Kevin Johnson, Mark West, Tyrone Corbin and Cleveland's first (used for Dan Majerle) and second round (used for

Dean Garrett Dean Heath Garrett (born November 27, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. At a height of tall, he played at the center position. College career Garrett attended San Clemente High School, in San Clemente, California, ...

) picks in 1988 and the Lakers' second round pick in 1989 (used for Greg Grant).

Cleveland Cavaliers (1988-1994)

The trade worked out for both teams, as Nance proved to be the missing piece Cleveland needed to contend for a title in the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

, while at the same time playing the role of frontcourt post partner to center Brad Daugherty before a series of back injuries forced Daugherty to retire. For the Suns, Johnson, Majerle and West became key players in the team's late 1980s and early 1990s success. Corbin, following a successful season in Phoenix, was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 expansion draft. Nance missed most of the 1993–1994 season, including the playoffs, due to a knee injury which required two arthroscopic knee surgeries. After the knee did not respond to treatment during the offseason, he announced his retirement in September 1994. Nance was a 3-time NBA All-Star 1985, 1989, and 1993, and an NBA All-Defensive Team First Team member in 1989, and a Second Team Member in 1992 and 1993. He was also consistently one of the league's better shot blockers, averaging 2.2 blocks per game during his career. Upon his retirement, he held the league record for most blocked shots by any player other than a center.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 80 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .521 , , .000 , , .641 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .9 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 82 , , 82 , , 35.5 , , .550 , , .333 , , .672 , , 8.7 , , 2.4 , , 1.2 , , 2.6 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 82 , , 82 , , 35.4 , , .576 , , .000 , , .707 , , 8.3 , , 2.6 , , 1.0 , , 2.1 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 61 , , 55 , , 36.1 , , .587 , , .500 , , .709 , , 8.8 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , 1.7 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 73 , , 69 , , 34.0 , , .581 , , .000 , , .698 , , 8.5 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.8 , , 20.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 69 , , 67 , , 37.2 , , .551 , , .200 , , .773 , , 8.7 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , 2.1 , , 22.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 40 , , 34 , , 36.9 , , .531 , , .400 , , .751 , , 9.9 , , 3.1 , , 1.1 , , 2.4 , , 21.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 27 , , 26 , , 33.6 , , .526 , , .000 , , .830 , , 7.9 , , 3.1 , , .7 , , 2.3 , , 16.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 72 , , 34.6 , , .539 , , .000 , , .799 , , 8.0 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , 2.8 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , 53 , , 33.3 , , .511 , , 1.000 , , .778 , , 8.3 , , 2.6 , , .9 , , 2.0 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 78 , , 36.6 , , .524 , , .250 , , .803 , , 8.6 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , 2.5 , , 19.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 35.6 , , .539 , , .000 , , .822 , , 8.3 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , 3.0 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 77 , , 35.8 , , .549 , , .000 , , .818 , , 8.7 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , 2.6 , , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 19 , , 27.5 , , .487 , , .000 , , .753 , , 6.9 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 1.7 , , 11.2 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 920 , , 795 , , 33.4 , , .546 , , .145 , , .755 , , 8.0 , , 2.6 , , .9 , , 2.2 , , 17.1 , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", All-Star , 3 , , 0 , , 14.7 , , .714 , , .000 , , .750 , , 4.7 , , .7 , , .7 , , 1.3 , , 11.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 7 , , 0 , , 18.3 , , .610 , , .000 , , .500 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 3 , , 0 , , 34.3 , , .400 , , .000 , , .800 , , 8.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 17 , , 0 , , 37.2 , , .590 , , .000 , , .671 , , 8.7 , , 2.4 , , .9 , , 2.0 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 40.0 , , .531 , , .000 , , .889 , , 7.2 , , 3.6 , , .4 , , 2.2 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 39.0 , , .551 , , .000 , , .656 , , 7.8 , , 3.2 , , .6 , , 2.4 , , 19.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 31.8 , , .578 , , .000 , , .750 , , 4.8 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , 2.0 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 17 , , 40.1 , , .494 , , .000 , , .829 , , 9.2 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , 2.7 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 36.6 , , .565 , , .000 , , .767 , , 8.2 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , 1.6 , , 16.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 68 , , 41 , , 35.7 , , .541 , , .000 , , .742 , , 7.9 , , 2.4 , , .9 , , 2.1 , , 15.7

Personal life

Nance's son, Larry Nance Jr., played college basketball for

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

before being selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. He played two and a half seasons with the Lakers before being traded to the

in February 2018. Nance granted the Cavaliers permission to let his son wear his retired no. 22 jersey. Nance's daughter, Casey Nance, played college basketball for

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. Another son, Pete Nance, played for the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...

and University of North Carolina Tar Heels for the in college, and was signed by the Cavaliers in January 2024, making him Nance's second son to play for the Cavs, and third member of the Nance family overall. Nance owns a 1967 "Catch 22" Camaro NHRA drag racer, which his team races on weekends.

References

External links

www.larrynance22.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nance, Larry 1959 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from South Carolina Centers (basketball) Clemson Tigers men's basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers players NBA All-Stars NBA players with retired numbers Sportspeople from Anderson, South Carolina Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Power forwards 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen

College career

Professional career

Phoenix Suns (1981-1988)

Cleveland Cavaliers (1988-1994)

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

See also

References

External links